Windows Remote Installation Services

[[BB] Rick James]

Anyone here use RIS or know even of it? How can you push programs using RIS. For example, I have an image of WinXP, I push WinXP onto two different laptops. But each of those laptop get different software installs. How can I say software A and B go onto Laptop 1, and Software C and D go onto Laptop 2?

 

[dbwillis]

Ive used RIS several times, and still use it at home.

You could do it 2 ways.....
(RIS requires an Active Directory)

(1)
-Use RIS to do an automated install on just about any PXE bootable machine
-Then use group policies to push out the applications
- this method would use 1 XP folder of the install files for installing, but needs GPO's to install the apps

(2) Use RIS to push out an image of the laptop, with the applications already installed and another image to the desktop with the apps already installed
- this method needs 2 XP folders on the server, 1 for each type of hardware

 

[zeplar]

Not the cleanest way, but after refreshing the image, you could edit the GuiRunOnce section of the sysprep.inf file.

Microsoft

Or perhaps create 2 different RIS install folders, both auto-refreshing the same image, but with different scripts to edit the GuiRunOnce sysprep.inf afterwards.

I haven't tried out Ghost 11's Console yet, but I'd imagine it should still be able to do post-configs too.

Otherwise, you could push it out with Active Directory.